We're Falling Apart To Halftime
by Ugawa
Summary: ."I look like a cross-dresser on speed." "How the hell would you even know what one looks like?" "Three words, my friend. Late night TV." An anger management program leaves Gaara at the mercy of his new dance teacher, Naruto. Can enemies by day become...
1. Chapter 1

**Full summary: An anger management program leaves Gaara at the mercy of his new dance teacher, Naruto. Can enemies by day become lovers by night?**

**Disclaimer - You know the score. I don't own anything.**

**Warning: Expect an oc Gaara and Naruto. The thing is, if these characters hadn't been brought up in the harsh 'ninja world' then I'm pretty damn sure they wouldn't be acting the same as in the manga. And besides, I like giving twists to my characters to make them stand out.**

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You know how you meet someone and claim how it was love-at-first-sight? Well, when I met Naruto for the second time it was more like ball-in-face at first sight. Less of seeing the blond, more of seeing a black and white circular object growing in size until it was too late to move. "Heads up," he'd called after I lay twitching on the floor with blood pooling from my nostrils. Yeah, thanks for the warning. When someone gives you racoon eyes on the first day back at school, you're not going to let the grudge go. No, you're going to hold onto it, squeeze it for all it's worth and then kick the guy's arse the first chance you get. Unfortunately… I hadn't gotten that chance yet and the incident was two years ago. I resorted to silently seething and burning holes in the back of his head with glares. The guy ticked me off. If he wasn't being loud and obnoxious… well, then you knew he wasn't there.

The day I finally received the chance for said arse kicking was the same day things started spiralling out of control, leaving me stood in front of the student body wearing a stupid, mother-fucking leotard.

But, perhaps I should start from the beginning…

Temari, my 'loving' older sister, always said there was a thin line between love and hate. And for me, that 'thin line' was the entrance doors to Konoha High. If the hygienic gum-stained floors or dented lockers didn't do it for you, then the jocks certainly did - which was why I avoided that thin line as long as possible, which ironically had spirit banners hung around the walls. Yeah, go Konoha High! We've got spirit, yes we do, if the jocks catch you alone, they'll kick the crap out of you. Tch. See, I could be a cheerleader.

Thick clouds of smoke drifted past my lips as I opened my mouth - I hadn't blown yet, letting the toxic mist float freely in the wind. I took another drag, letting the much needed nicotine invade my lungs before letting that drag, plus the first drag, out in one long line. The cancer stick dangled loosely between my two fingers as I crossed my arms and lifted my foot to lean against the graffiti covered wall. I wondered which slag's name had been entered onto the wall of shame. I trailed my eyes along the badly written list. Sakura… Ino… hmm, no one new. They'd sleep with the janitor if it helped them pass, well, anything.

The bell hadn't rung yet, meaning I still had a few minutes free before having to start a new day, but if I didn't meet Matsuri before lessons started she'd get pissed - like always. I swore that girl was constantly PMSing over something. If she didn't have her morning shot of Arabic coffee - which was the strongest in the world. That girl was going to die young, I could see it coming - she'd bite your head off for just saying 'good morning'. I'd learnt that the hard way. Here's the censored version of the first morning I tried speaking to her before her caffeine drink.

"Good morning, Matsu-"

"What the beep is so beepin good about it, you beepin makeup wearing beep."

"… Right, I'll just leave you to it then, shall I?" I'd said, backing away.

High pitched squeals and humming chatter erupted as I pushed open the large metal doors and entered the building after stumping my cigarette out. Teenagers hung around lockers. Girls gossiped and boys threw footballs to one another. Everyone else but Matsuri seemed to avoid me. It could've had something to do with my mood swings which almost outmatched Matsuri's. The only difference between us was that she could control her's when they weren't directed at me. The only reason I didn't skitz out at Matsuri when she pissed me off was because we'd been next door neighbours for longer than I could remember, and we'd always been friends even though she was a year younger than me.

When I spotted the brunette pulling books from her locker at the end of a long row, I slowed my pace and leant against the green dented door of the one beside her's.

"Morning," I said.

"Morning," she said, not pulling her face from the hole containing her books. Her green blazer with the school's logo - a leaf - was tied around her waist, and the white sleeves on her dress shirt were rolled up to her elbows. She dragged the last book out and closed the metal door before looking up at me and raising an eyebrow. "You're wearing makeup again."

I turned my head away. "It's not makeup." Seriously, how many times did I have to tell her? "It's a highly manly face paint which-"

"Comes from your sister's makeup kit."

"Exactly. That's what I said. Manly." Jeez. It wasn't as if I wore friggin' lipstick or blush; just a little eyeliner and foundation which made my skin look pale and smooth - Edward Cullen, eat your heart out. It wasn't even that noticeable.

"Your manly eyeliner's smudged." Matsuri opened her locker again so I could examine my face in the door's mirror.

Bloody perfect. "Hand me a wipe," I said, holding one hand out while rubbing at the smudged line with the other, making it worse.

"Is that a makeup wipe or a manly face paint wipe? Because I don't have any of the latter."

I turned from the door and snatched the pack of makeup removing wipes from her clutches. "Just give me the damn things, woman."

She crossed her arms, pouting as I turned away again to get rid of the black. "How anyone thinks your intimidating is beyond me," she whispered loud enough just so I knew I was supposed to hear. "The only thing I worry about is if you're going to hit me with a handbag…"

I ignored her remarks and dragged the wet cloth over my right eye. "Whatever, just give me your eyeliner."

"Is that manly eyeliner or-"

"Just give me your fucking makeup bag, would ya? I want to get this done before the bell goes." And before anyone saw me applying makeup in the middle of the corridor. Principal Tsunade had already said that if I got into one more fight I was going to be expelled for good this time. I'd been excluded for two week periods before, but come on, letting me off school for two weeks is the best punishment anyone could have. Kick the shit out of someone and get a holiday for it, it's a win-win situation. But getting expelled for good… well, that wasn't good.

I unzipped her small, silvery makeup bag and placed it on the top self of her locker before pulling out the black stick and taking the top off. I was a bit wary since the last time I'd borrowed one of her eyeliners, I'd gotten conjunctivitis, but when needs must…

"So anyway," Matsuri said when I started running it across my eyelid. "This party on Saturday. You're coming, right?"

"One," I said slowly due to concentration. "No, I'd rather die. And two, neither are you." I finished up and blinked a few times, making sure no black substance had made its way to my eyeball - it stung like a bitch when that happened.

"Eh? Why not?"

I dropped the eye-pencil into the silvery bag and zipped it up. "Because there will be alcohol there and boys-"

"Really? I thought there would be party hats and jelly and ice-cream," she said, letting the sarcasm ooze from her lips. She flipped her brown hair over her shoulder like she did whenever she started to get pissed and grabbed the makeup bag to stuff it back into her school one. "Thanks for clearing that one up, Sherlock."

"Are you quite finished?" I crossed my arms.

"Yes."

"Thank you. And if I'm not there then god knows what will happen to you. Plus, you're underage for both alcohol and intercourse."

"But-"

"The foot is coming down on this one, Matsuri." I elevated my knee to lift my foot from the ground.

"But that's-"

"It's going." I started to drop my limb.

"But you-"

My foot hit the ground. "Oh, would you look at that? The foot is down. I guess you're not going."

"But-"

"It's down, Matsuri." I closed her locker door. "Don't try to disobey the foot, it knows all."

Her knuckles dug into my forearm, almost knocking me off balance. Damn, that girl had strength. "We're going, even if I have to drag you from your house Saturday night kicking and screaming."

I clicked my tongue off the roof of my mouth. "You do know whose house it's at, right?"

She nodded. "Of course I do. I'm the one who told you about it."

"Yeah, Naruto hates me and I hate him. I'm not going to his party."

"Naruto doesn't hate anybody. Are you still sore about him breaking your nose two years ago?"

"It wasn't broken, just a little sprained." I would not admit that the blond had broken any part of me. Bloody cheap shot…

"You had a cast on it for a week."

I fanned my hand. "Added effect. I just wanted him to feel guilty."

Matsuri stared at me as if I were an idiot. "Right." And then sighed before turning to walk down the corridor. "If you don't want to go, that's fine. But you can't stop me. I'm plenty old enough to do what I like, I'm only a year younger than you, and I actually want a social life."

"I have a social life," I mumbled as I tried to keep up with her pace.

"Sitting at home with your fish is not a social life."

"At least my fish don't answer me back… or disobey me when my foot is down."

Matsuri shook her head, letting her brown tresses move side to side. "That's real sad, Gaara… in more than one way."

God, she was right. I really was sad "I'm not sad."

Students sat against lockers chatting and eating store-bought breakfasts. A nice warm muffin sounded great right about now, but no, I was always stuck with soggy cereal which Temari, my older sister, always deemed necessary for my nutrition. Even when I wasn't hungry, she'd sit there and make me eat the whole thing. 'You've only just started putting meat on your bones since Mum and Dad died," she'd say. 'I'm not letting this progress go downhill. Don't give me that look, boy. If you go under the scale-line again, you're going back to the hospital.' Psh. Had no one ever heard of having a naturally slim figure?

"When was the last time you had any fun?" Matsuri asked as we turned down a corridor which led to her form class.

I pondered the answer for a few seconds, tapping my finger on my bottom lip. "Three months ago when I kicked the shit out of Kiba for calling me a Nancy boy in gym." I smiled, remembering the crunch of his nose.

"Again. Sad in more than one way," she mumbled as we stopped outside her form room. "Listen, I'm going on Saturday whether you like it or not, and if you want to make sure I'm okay then you're going to have to come, too."

"But-"

"Gaara, I don't care if your foot is down. Hell, I don't give a crap if you're whole body is on the floor on this one, I'm going. I'll see you at lunch." She escaped through the door, closing it on my face.

I wasn't going to that bloody party. Just because Naruto invited the entire student body to his 'shindigs', did not mean that I was invited, nor did it mean that I should go. I shifted into my gym shorts and green polo-shirt. PE was definitely not my favourite lesson. Have you ever seen a heavy smoker trying to run laps? Yeah, it isn't a pretty sight - I'd usually run the track until Gai-sensei became distracted by the 'youth' of his students and would take a very quick detour in the opposite direction, hide behind the tennis courts and spark a fag.

Skimming my fingers across my short's pocket to make sure my smokes were there, I quickened my pace to catch up to the rest of Gai-Sensei's first period PE lesson. Seriously, physically education should be optional, not compulsory. And what genius put buckets all over the field?

I peered over the rim of a black bucket containing rainwater. Looked like the geography club were measuring water levels again. Did they have nothing better to do?

"Gather around, my youthful pupils." Gai-sensei's hands found his hips and he leaned back to take in a lungful of air. "It is a wonderful day to stretch our limbs with a little competition."

"The old geezer is getting senile," a student whispered beside me as we gathered around the teacher.

"It is a wonderful day indeed, Gai-sensei." There went Gai's mini-me.

"That's the spirit, Lee. We shall fight the forces of unyouthfulness. Starting with this class." I twisted my head. Where the hell had those waves come from? "I shall now pair you up, and within your little group I expect complete cooperation."

"What a drag," a scruffy looking brunet complained as he crossed his arms. "You wanna head off? As soon as Lee starts getting competitive, Gai-Sensei will lose interest in everyone else. I swear that guy has a thing for little boys. Friggin' paedo."

"Sounds like a plan," the rich snob beside him mumbled. "You coming, Naruto?" God only knew how Sasuke and Naruto ended up friends. On the blond's first day at Konoha High, he'd challenged the raven to a fight and surprisingly enough won. He'd even beaten Neji Hyuga in a fist fight, winning him the title of 'toughest boy in the school'. I was sure I could still take him, though.

Naruto. Even his name pissed me off. Na-Ru-To. What sort of fucked-up crack was his mum on when she named him? The blond shrugged and tilted his head. "As soon as we get the chance, but if we head off too early he'll notice, and I don't need another tardy slip. If I get one more I'm going to get a two week exclusion. Can we head to Costa first? I haven't had my morning caffeine shot, yet. Technically I shouldn't even be standing right now."

The brunet, Kiba, nudged Naruto in the ribs, being rewarded with a grunt. "Sure thing, buddy. We couldn't have you collapsing on us, now, can we?" He shone his sharp canines in a grin.

"If you hadn't taken so long to get out of bed this morning, I wouldn't have had to drag you from your house without it, dobe."

Naruto bawled his hand into a fist in front of Sasuke, before Gai-Sensei called his name, catching his attention. His head tilted as he waited for the name of his partner - why the hell am I trying to make this suspenseful? We all know what's coming next because Lady Luck is a fucking slag who should be shot, and because my name is Gaara and it wouldn't have been right if I'd actually had some good luck for once.

Long story short:

"Naruto, you're with Gaara." There we go. Should've just said that to start with.

My left eye twitched as I considered banging my head against the ground until I fell unconscious. That really was typical, but then again, this was my chance! This could've been what I'd been waiting for. All I had to do was wait for him to say something to provoke me - which shouldn't take too long - and I'd be able to show HIM what it was like to have a broken nose. I'd grab that stupid headband he wore with the orange swirl on its centre and gag him with it, then I'd roar with laughter as I smashed his face in - God, I understood what Temari, Kankuro and Matsuri meant about my mood swings.

After a few comments from Sasuke and Kiba, Naruto trudged to my side and let out a sigh through his nose. Not a single word was exchanged as we listened to our next instructions from Gai-Sensei, and my hands began twitching at my sides. This was it. Say something to me. Go on, say something to provoke me, I dare you.

"…I will go and collect the footballs, as my students, I expect you all on your best behaviours until I get back. Lee, you are in charge."

The black haired boy with a bowl haircut saluted while straightening his back. "Yes, Gai-Sensei."

And when the teacher jogged from the field, Naruto turned to me to speak. "So," he began. "Hey." I narrowed my eyes into slits, letting him know I wasn't interested in weather talk. He rolled his eyes. "Hey, Naruto," he mumbled to himself. "How are you. I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"Oi, Naruto," Kiba called. "Let's get going before he gets back." He waved an arm and pointed behind himself with a thumb.

"Oh, no," Lee said. "You can not skip classes! It is unyouthful and wrong. Gai-Sensei put me in charge and I take this duty seriously."

"Put a sock in it, bug-eyes," Naruto called across the field to where Lee stood. Another reason I couldn't stand Naruto. The guy was practically bipolar. One minute he could be the most innocent person in the school, and the next he could be a bigger arse than the Uchiha. He had some serious issues, ones I'm sure that medication could help. At least with me people knew whether they were coming or going. "The old geezer will see us leaving the field, he's only in the equipment shed."

"Whatever, man," Kiba moaned.

Naruto turned back to me. "Anyway, I'm having a party this Saturday-"

"So I've heard."

"You coming?"

"No." I crossed my arms.

He huffed. "Listen, I've never really had the chance to apologise for what happened-" His face zoomed into mine and I leant back. "Dude, are you wearing makeup?"

Could that be considered provoking? It sure as hell did in my books. "Fuck you, arsehole," I said, tilting my head back a little and noticing how far he'd had to bend to meet my face. He sure as hell had grown in two years.

He laughed, stepping back. "Oh my fucking god, you are. That's hilarious."

Oh, hell no. He was not just standing there and insulting me to my face. This boy was going down.

"What're you laughing at?" I pushed his shoulders. "Dipshit."

His laughing ceased, as well as all the talking around us, and he straightened up, sending daggers my way with a smirk playing on his lips. "Aw, seems someone's still a little sore about the football incident. I could reapply that makeup for you. Yanno, black eyes, blue cheeks and red lips? You'd look picture perfect."

"Come on then," I shouted, stretching my arms to the side to let him know I was up for the fight. Finally!

"No. No. No!" Lee screeched. "This is not youthful at all. Stop this at-"

"Fuck up, Lee," Naruto hissed, not taking his eyes from me.

A dark blush played on the athletic boy's face.

I stepped forward, tightening my right hand into a fist and sending it flying toward Naruto's face. I think I actually shocked myself when it connected. The class around us seemed to gasp as one while Naruto's head remained twisted to the side. The blond's shoulders were shaking. Was he laughing?

Kiba threw his head back in a roar of laughter. "Screw ditching, this is gonna be awesome. You're in for it now. No one messes with Naruto before his Arabic Coffee." Did he just say Arabic Coffee? Shit, not another Matsuri.

I stood my ground, legs bent slightly in a fighting stance. Naruto's whole body twisted as his fist flew toward my gut, I would've been able to dodge it, but he was only faking, and his leg came up instead, hitting me square across the head. How the fuck did he get his leg so high? I skidded across the ground, meeting the dry grass with a thud, and only just about managed to roll out the way when a foot came to stamp on my chest. Fuck, he was fast. I got to my feet, thanking god that I was petite enough to move quickly, and sent my fist into Naruto's gut - this time making him double over. My knee came up to smash against his doubled over head, but only managed to get his forehead, which still left him falling backward onto his arse.

Fuck yeah! I wanted to do a little jig, but that would've been so not cool. And it wasn't really the time nor place, plus I hated dancing.

Naruto's head rose from the dirt and he coughed twice before wincing. "Oi." He nudged his head at me. "Get his arms, would ya?"

I gulped, letting the seemingly solid liquid rip through my throat. Three against one. Yeah, that was fair. When Kiba and Sasuke advanced, I barely had time to squeak out a shocked cry before my wrists were grabbed at either side, fingers digging into the bone.

I twisted my head to the dog and raven, but they weren't looking at me, they were staring out ahead at Naruto who was already up. My eyes widened. So not good. This wasn't how it was supposed to go down. I was winning, damn him!

Naruto didn't head my way at first. No, he strolled casually over to one of the geography buckets and scooped it up between his hands while looking down at the liquid within it. My shoulders moved back and forth as I twisted my limbs, and my eyes remained stationed on Naruto as he sauntered up to me with the bucket in his hands.

He held it on his hip when he was back in his original spot. "Well, well, well," he said, lifting an eyebrow and smiling sweetly at me. "Looks like someone was confused about their gender." I scraped my feet across the ground, tugging against Sasuke and Kiba's grip as they laughed at my expense. Naruto lifted the bucket. "Let me help you out and wash that stuff off your face." He smirked, swinging his arms back. "You can thank me later."

My head twisted away, and I held my breath as the bucket swung forward again. The freezing liquid hit me, making me choke when it went up my nose. After I finished coughing, I could hear the other students in hysterics. My arms were released while Sasuke and Kiba held their stomachs almost crying, and I sank to the ground - knees hitting against the now wet mud - and wiped the water from my face. Black and pale cream smudges stained my hands as I brought them away.

"God…" Naruto said through cackled laughter, making me lift my head again to look at him. "You look like a drowned version of those makeup dolls. This is priceless, someone tell me they caught that on their cell phone."

My chest clenched as tightly as my hands. This was definitely not the way it was supposed to go down. But he had dweedle-dee and dweedle-dum to his advantage. I gazed back down at my hands, unable to say anything as my cheeks heated in humiliation.

"What sort of behaviour do you call this?" Gai-Sensei's voice erupted, silencing the laughter around us immediately. He had Lee at his side. "You are not a pack of wild animals! You are youthful children in the midst of their- aw, fuck it all. You." He pointed at me. "What the hell is going on here?" I think everyone's eyes widened at once. What'd happened to the preachy teacher? I think he was pissed off. "Who did that to you?"

High School Code number one: You do not rat on your fellow students. It doesn't matter if they beat you half to death or stick a rod up your arse and make you walk around with it in there all day. Being a rat was worse than… well, kneeling on the school field dripping wet with makeup running down your face. So I shrugged, but my eyes deceived me as they automatically shot toward the blond demon from hell. He glared at me. I might as well have pointed him out.

Gai-Sensei peered at Naruto, who had a small red mark beginning to form on his cheek from where I'd punched him. He twisted his head away to hide his face, but the teacher had already seen it. "Naruto! I am entirely disappointed in you."

"He started it." Naruto extended a finger in my direction and my mouth hung open. Hello? Does High School Code number one not ring any bells with you? What the fuck?… and what the hell did he mean by I started it?

I stood and shook my head, letting the water fly off in little droplets. "Fuck you. You started it."

"You want to go a second round, you-"

"Principal's office. Both of you. Now!"

I wanted to slap myself. I was going to get expelled.

Having a female principal was ten times worse than having a male. If a male teacher hits you, you can get them done for assault. But what about when a female teacher wallops you across the head? How come no one ever reports that?

I sat in my school attire again, resting my head against the wall to Tsunade-Sama's office waiting room and played with the sleeves on my blazer. Today couldn't get much worse. Can anyone say 'total humiliation'? Maybe it was a good thing I was about to be expelled. I didn't think showing my face was an option anymore, anyway, so why not just change schools?

Naruto sat on the other side of the waiting room with his arms crossed and glaring out the window. How anyone could have such split personalities was beyond me. I gazed back at the office door and cringed. My sister was currently in there and by the look she gave me when she passed, she was not happy in the slightest. She'd probably have to work later tonight now that she'd had to skip an hour.

When the door swung open, crashing against the wall beside it, Tsunade-Sama's voice boomed through the waiting room. "Naruto, Gaara, get your arses in here now."

My pupils shot toward the ceiling in a silent prayer. Please don't let Temari kill me. And I placed my hands on my knees to help myself stand as slowly as possible. I entered the office with Naruto just behind me and sat on one of the two empty seats in front of the big busted, blond psychopath of a principal. Her eyes twitched as they followed our every movement. It wasn't like we were going to start a fight in her office, that would've been suicide.

When we were both seated and her fingers were firmly entwined, she began. "I will not have such immature behaviour being acted out within my school, do you understand me?"

We both nodded.

"Gaara, I have spoken to your sister, and we have come to an arrangement. Naruto, I have spoken to your uncle over the phone and have also come to an arrangement. Both of you have shown complete disregard of the rules, and I should expel your arses here on the spot."

I cringed, and I saw Naruto do the same beside me. "However, I am willing to give you both one last chance." Her eyes glistened with something I couldn't read, and my first thought was, 'What's the catch?'. "On one condition. Gaara, you seem to be in need of some serious anger management, and, Naruto, you need to learn to be more responsible. You're always missing lessons and getting yourself into petty fights. So, I have assigned both of you a sort off…" she licked her lips. "Mission. I have explained to both your guardians what said 'mission' is, and they have both pleasantly agreed that this will be exceedingly helpful."

I could see by the tugging muscles around her lips that she wanted to laugh. What the hell could it be? "I will let them explain to you what will be happening over the next couple of weeks, and if I am not happy with the results, I will expel you both quicker than you can scream for your moth-" she cut herself off by clearing her throat, and I swallowed down a lump in mine. "Now get the hell out of my office, you're both excluded for the rest of the day. And for god's sake, Gaara, wash your face properly. You look like a prostitute who's been caught in the rain."

My mouth dropped. Was she even allowed to say that?

When Tsunade's rants were over, I nodded and followed my sister from the office, out the school and into her green car which sat in the parking lot.

"So, what's the condition?" I asked while leaning my elbow against the glass and watching the trees zoom past the window in flashy blurs.

I could feel her grinning as I watched a few more trees speed in the opposite direction.

"Dance Class."

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**Muhahaha. *Fingers twitching* So many possibilities.**

**Please review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for my lovely reviews :).**

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Little brown and green pieces sank and danced inside the aquarium when I sprinkled fish food into the water. The small creatures swam in little circles, and only disappeared into their castle again when my finger tapped the glass. I leaned my arms against the table and watched Pinkie and Perky, my catfish, swish their greyish-brown tails from side to side.

"Gaara," Temari called up the stairs. I turned away from the illuminated, rectangular fish tank. "Matsuri's here." The red digits on my alarm clock read: 9:00pm. "Oi. Are you listening to me? I'm sending her up." I ran fingers through red tresses before standing to put a shirt on. I'd told her not to bother getting me, how many times did I have to tell her that the party was a no-go?

Matsuri knocked on the white, wooden door to my room just as I tugged a black tank top over my head, and she walked in before I'd even answered. I could've been doing anything - you'd have thought she'd learn after walking in on me having a quick tug. I still cringed every time I remembered her open mouth and wide eyes as I'd jumped from my bed, only to trip over the jeans around my ankles.

"Ain't you dressed yet?" she asked. I looked down at my sweatpants and black top. If I wasn't mistaken, I was already fully clothed. "Don't act dumb. Get changed, you can't go to Naruto's looking like that."

"Did you forget what I said the other day? I'm not going, especially after what he did." I'd be walking blind through enemy territory. And thanks to him, I now had to find a way out of some dance class on Monday. His punishment had better be worse than mine.

"It was probably just a joke." A joke? He chucked a bucket of rainwater over me! "Besides, there'll be so many people there you probably won't even see him." She passed me and threw open my wardrobe. "Let's see…"

"Matsuri, I'm not going."

"What about this?" She pulled out a red button-up shirt. "You looked great in it last year at my birthday party." She threw it atop my bed, letting it drape over the mattress before falling to the floor in a heap. "And these jeans?" A black pair of skinny jeans flew over her shoulder and landed a few feet away from the shirt. "And this belt?" A black, studded belt hurtled toward my head, and I caught it just before getting whipped in the face. She turned. "Well, don't just sit there. Get moving." Typical girl. You say one thing and she hears something completely different.

I threw the belt back at her. "I'm. Not. Going." Matsuri's translation. "Party. Woo. Chuck my clothes around the room, and let's get going."

"Why not?" Finally, now we're getting somewhere. "We'll have fun." She unzipped her brown jacket and pulled out a bottle of vodka. "This will get us started." Started? She'd be legless before we'd even made it to his house. She jiggled it in front of my face as if it were gold dust. "Come on, we haven't had a drink since-"

"Since I had to carry you home over my shoulder because you couldn't stand."

"That's beside the point."

"You're parents still blame me for that." I hadn't even been with her that night. She'd called me to sing a slurred song down the phone. She was just lucky I knew which party she'd gone to that night, and that I was a nice enough person to walk all the way across town to Tenten's just to make sure she got home alright.

"Whatever." She unscrewed the top and gagged after taking a mouthful of the acidic liquid.

"If you throw up on my floor, you're cleaning it yourself-" She took another mouthful. "- with your tongue." The metal lid was screwed back on and she chucked it to me. The clear liquid swashed around the edges as I caught the bottle. "Just have a drink, and stop being such an old man. You're seventeen, not seventy." I put the bottle down on the table, letting the dull thud shake the water in the fish tank, and she crossed her arms over her flat chest. "You've been no fun since…" Her mouth closed when I jolted my head toward her.

"Since what?"

"Since nothing."

"No, go on. Finish what you were going to say. Since my parents died, right?" Did she expect me to be a bundle of laughs? "Fuck off, and take your alcohol with you." I twisted in my swivel-chair again to watch the last present my mum bought me swim around their tank, and Matsuri's arms folded around my shoulders so she could place her cheek against mine and peer at Pinkie and Perky's attempts at crashing into each other. Stupid fish…

Our reflections on the glass gazed back. "You know," she said. "They wouldn't want you locking yourself away. Just because you were there doesn't mean it was your fault. You have to stop beating yourself up about it."

I sighed through my nose and moved my eyes away from the glass. What the hell would she know? She wasn't there. I could've saved them, or at least stayed. But I was a coward. I'd left them, knowing full well that they weren't going to be right behind me like they'd promised. "I'm not carrying you home this time," I mumbled, pushing her arms away so I could change into the clothes she'd chosen to dump on my floor.

"Your coming?"

"I've already said before, God knows what will happen to you if I'm not there."

So, Matsuri won. I changed into the red shirt, black jeans and belt, and we walked across town, taking it in turns swigging from the vodka bottle. White steam pooled from houses and disappeared into the air as we got closer to Naruto's house. And even with the alcohol in my system, I still didn't think this was a good idea. I knew what would probably happen. I'd walk inside and get kicked out straight away. That wouldn't have been embarrassing in the slightest.

When we entered the middle-class's section of town, the scenery changed. No longer were we surrounded by council flats and bodge-job houses, but instead, large housing accommodations, freshly cut lawns and clean streets. Other students from our school passed us while carrying crates of beers and bottles of sambuca, TVX, WKD. You name it, they probably had it. The blond's uncle was a dumb-fucker for letting his nephew have monthly bashes. I'd hate to think of the mess produced every time, not to mention cost for damages.

"Hey, Gaara, Matsuri," A girl with buns on her head called. Tenten crossed the street with Neji, her boyfriend, by her side. "I didn't know you two were coming."

"Yeah, neither did I," I said, holding my hands in my jean's pockets.

"This is going to be great." Tenten handed me a beer from the crate Neji was carrying. "I couldn't come to the last one since I was babysitting."

Matsuri tilted the vodka bottle up to her mouth and took another swig, nodding. "Mmhmm," she mumbled through a gag. "This is the first one I've been to." She nudged me in the arm as I popped the cap on the beer, making me spill a little on the pavement. "Gaara having a grudge against Naruto means he's never let me come before." I glared at her, sucking the spilt beer from my fingers, then from the rim of the can.

Tenten laughed and leaned forward to grin at me from the other side of Matsuri. "I heard about what happened in PE the other day. Lee and Neji told me. Naruto can be a little… yeah, sometimes. But he's nice ninty-nine percent of the time."

I snorted and took a mouthful of beer. "I guess that other one percent is saved especially for me."

Music vibrated the air as we turned up outside Naruto's mansion of a home. Already teenagers were laying on his lawn, and beer cans littered the grass. A couple were leaning against the house, eating each other's faces - they sorta looked like regurgitating penguins - and we stepped past them to walk through the door. Two steps in - so far, so good.

Bodies took up every room, hallway and seating area. All the sides were covered in cans, bottles and spilt alcohol. But Jesus Christ - the outside did the place no justice. His house looked like something you'd see on Cribs. It was huge! Slurred conversations came from every direction, and I could barely hear myself think over the thumping music. It was just a wander how the police never came to break these things up.

Matsuri grabbed my hand to drag me through to the kitchen, and I had to hoist her up when she stumbled over someone's foot. She giggled and turned back to tap me on the nose. "Thank you." I scrunched my face. Yup, she was getting drunk already, and we'd only just arrived.

"Dude, it's the makeup guy." Here we go. An arm slumped over my shoulder and Kiba's body pressed against my side as he moved a bottle of beer around in the air, letting it slop over the top. "This is the guy. This is the guy I was telling you about." A circle of girls laughed and looked at me through eyes with too much eyeliner and mascara, making their lashes clump together - did no one know how to put that stuff on properly? Needless to say, I hadn't applied anything before leaving my house - my face was officially makeup free. And I felt naked without it. "Where's Naruto?" he slurred to the girls and they shifted their shoulders in a shrug. "Aw, well." He tightened and loosened his grip around my shoulder to nudge me. "No hard feelings, eh?" God, people acted differently when drunk.

No point aggravating the boy. "Yeah, sure," I mumbled, feeling uneasy being the centre of attention within the small group.

"Didn't think I'd see you here-"

"I'll be in the kitchen," Matsuri said. Bitch, throw me to the pack of dogs, why don't you?

"- I have nothing against you, dude. But you have to admit, the other day with the water was funny." Yeah, didn't he see me creasing with laughter as I'd knelt against the ground dripped wet? It was hysterical. "Hey, where's Naruto?" he repeated, and again the girls shrugged. "Aw, well. He'll be around here somewhere… Hey, where's Sasuke?" Bloody hell, somebody get me out of here. "You know, I have nothing against you. But the other day in PE was funny, you have to admit."

I peered sideways at the dog-lover. A red tint shadowed his nose and his lopsided grin made him look like he'd been drinking for hours. I moved his arm off my shoulder slowly and stepped back. "Yeah, I'm just gonna…" I pointed to the kitchen with my thumb.

"Yeah, that's fine, dude. I'll catch you around." He turned back to the pack of girls and began chatting as they gazed at him through their eyelashes - looked like someone had his pick of the litter. I think I preferred him when he was being an arse. At least then he wasn't slopping beer over me.

I pulled at the waist of my shirt and wiped my hand against the material to dry it off a bit. Bloody perfect, this was my favourite one as well. I entered the kitchen, where the source of the music came from. "Matsuri?" I called.

"Hey, Gaara." I really wished people would stop leaning all over me. Did I have 'human leaning post' hung around my neck? Matsuri dumped the vodka bottle in my hand. "Have a drink. Loosen up a bit. You're so tense." And you're so drunk.

"Maybe you've had enough," I shouted over the music.

"Aww, don't be such a party-pooper." She pushed the bottle closer to me. "Drink it, or I'll finish the whole thing myself, and you don't want me getting too drunk, do you?" I unscrewed the lid and had a small swig, letting the warm liquid heat my chest as it passed through. "No, no, no," she said, holding the base so I couldn't take it from my mouth. "Bottoms up." She laughed as the toxic acid spilt down my throat to land in my stomach. The liquid crawled back up, making me gag and step back. The bottle left my lips and the last half of the vodka slopped over my shirt before the glass slipped through Matsuri's fingers, smashing against the floor. The shouts around us stopped as everyone looked down at the mess.

"Matsuri!" I shouted behind my hand whilst trying to keep the alcohol from coming back up. Her eyes widened as she gazed down at the smashed shards of glass, then threw her head back in a laugh. What the bloody hell was funny about this? "Matsuri!" I repeated, wiping my hand against my now soaked shirt.

The music stopped and my ears buzzed in the now silence. "What smashed? Is everyone okay in here?" I wanted to sink into the ground as Naruto stepped through the door in an orange shirt and light-blue jeans. Now he was definitely going to kick me out.

Naruto gazed down at the smashed glass before raising his blue eyes to my face. I looked side to side nervously, hoping someone would jump to my rescue before I had to add another reason to my list of: Why I hated Naruto, and why I was going to kick his arse one day.

He shooed everyone out the way of the glass. He opened a cupboard, pulled out a dustpan and brush, and stepped between the shards to bend down and sweep up the pieces. My foot stepped back, and glass crunched under my shoe. "Don't move, you idiot," he said without looking away from the glass he was brushing into a pile. When he finished, he stood and tipped the smashed bottle into a bin. He turned the music back on.

'GaGa, ooh la la. Want your bad romance. I want your ugly, I want your disease. I want your everything as long as it's free. I want your love. Love, love, love. I want your love…'

Fingers curled around the neck of my shirt, dragging me from the room, between slumped bodies and through the hallway. When the front door came into view, I grabbed Naruto's hands, trying to pry them from me. "Get the fuck off!" I shouted, but he didn't open the door and chuck me out like I thought he was going to. He began pushing me up his staircase. I stumbled up a few steps before turning and looking down at him, a confused look probably playing on my features.

"Well, move then," he said. "Do you want some dry clothes, or not?"

I think I went into momentary shock. Dry clothes? "What?"

"Just get up the stairs."

What the hell? Why wasn't he kicking me out? Perhaps it was a trap. When we got to his landing, he stepped past me and walked on in front. An inner voice screamed at me to run back down the stairs and leave, but I stunk of vodka, and if I went home like this then Temari was going to literally kill me. She thought Matsuri and I had gone back to her house to study.

He banged on a closed door before swinging it open. "No shagging in the spare rooms." A couple squeezed past him in the doorway, pulling clothes back on and going downstairs. "The amount of time I have to tell people." He chuckled. "Sexually frustrated teens, huh?"

"Yeah…" I mumbled.

Naruto pushed open a door at the very end of the hallway and leaned against the wall for a second to turn the light on with his shoulder.

I entered slowly, and he opened a walk-in wardrobe before disappearing inside. Damn, I peered around the corner, that was a lot of clothes… and a lot of orange. I left him digging through a shelf to gaze around his bedroom. Orange walls, orange bedspread, orange lamp… yup, this boy had some weird fetish for the colour. I stepped past his bed and curled my fingers around a large curtain - which surprisingly wasn't orange, but blue - and pulled it to one side.

A balcony overlooked his back garden. Teenagers staggered around, laughing, singing and talking with gesturing hands. Dropping the curtain back into place, I turned in the quiet room for a better look. What the hell did his uncle do for a living? Because it certainly wasn't shop work.

On his nightstand, just beside the orange lamp, stood a small trophy. I took a step toward it, but Naruto exited his wardrobe with a black shirt in his hands. He chucked it to me, and I caught it in one hand. My coordination was still intact - looked like Matsuri's cunning plan to get me drunk hadn't worked. One of us had to be sober to make sure we both got home safely - it just always ended up being me. Being intoxicated never did interest me. Why would people want to drink something that tasted rank just so they had an excuse for making fools of themselves? The whole thing was pointless and degrading.

"That's the smallest thing I could find. It should fit," he said, closing the wardrobe's sliding doors and leaning against the wall beside them.

"Right… thanks," I said, looking down at the black material. I unbuttoned my red shirt and slipped into the black one. "What's that for?" I nudged my head toward the trophy while popping the collar on the shirt before flattening it down.

"Huh?" He looked in the direction of his nightstand. "Oh, nothing. That shouldn't even be in here. You got a smoke?"

He smoked? Since when? I dipped my hand into my jeans pocket, "Uh…" and pulled out a pack. He'd given me a dry shirt to wear, after all. "Yeah."

Taking one of the white sticks from my packet, he pushed aside the blue curtain and unlocked the glass door which lead to his balcony. He pulled a lighter from his pocket and leaned his elbows on the metal railing. I came up beside him, sparked my own cigarette and leaned my back against the railing, letting my elbows falls slightly behind me to lean against the thin surface. The awkward silence drifted between us, only being disturbed by the sound of smoke being blown and the music downstairs.

"I didn't know you smoked," I said, trying to murder the silence.

"Hmm." He blew a cloud. "Social smoker. I only do it when I'm stressed." What was there to be stressed about? He was having a bloody party. In fact, why wasn't he downstairs soaking up the attention? He laughed. "You can go if you want. You don't have to stand here talking to me. But thanks for giving me an excuse to get away. I was starting to get a headache."

I peered sideways at him. The moon's silver light turned his tanned skin a pale cream, and reflected in his eyes as he watched the people in the garden below us. "It's cool. I was beginning to feel like a human leaning post with everyone draping themselves over me, anyway."

"What made you come?"

"Matsuri. She's in the year below us, and she wouldn't take no for an answer. I didn't want her coming by herself." I took a drag and tilted my head back to let the smoke blow upwards over our heads.

He chuckled softly. "The big, bad Gaawa didn't want his girlfriend getting hit on."

"What's that supposed to mean? And I've known her almost my whole life. We're just friends."

"That explains why I never see you holding hands or kissing. You're together all the time, I just thought you were frigid." Bloody charming. "You don't seem like the mothering type." I raised a thin eyebrow. "You know, going out your way to look after a girl who you're not expecting to get into the pants of?"

"Excuse me?"

"Hey, don't take it personally. There just isn't many guys who would do that… who are straight, anyway."

My eyes narrowed into slits, and if I hadn't been halfway through a cigarette, I would've left there and then. Perhaps stumping it out on his forehead was an option? "Fuck you. I am straight."

He held his hands up in mock defence. "Okay, don't get so touchy." He laughed and puffed on his fag. "Did the old hag go all out to piss you off as well?"

It took me a second to catch onto what he was talking about. "You can say that again."

"So, what's your mission?"

I snorted and turned to lean against the railings like Naruto was. I gazed down into the garden. Silver light lit the ground and reflected off the swimming pool at the far end. "Don't ask. What about you?"

"Ugh. You wouldn't want to know." I laughed. Hopefully his punishment was worse than mine. Sure, he seemed okay at the moment, but that didn't cancel out the fact he'd knocked me out with a soccer ball two years ago, and now I had public humiliation added to the list. "Listen," Naruto said, taking one last drag on his cigarette before flicking it over the balcony. "Sorry about the other day in PE. You caught me on a bad day, I guess I went a little too far, but you did start it." Perhaps he should've stopped at 'sorry'.

"What? You started it." I flicked my cigarette like Naruto did, and sparks from the ember floated from the tip and twisted in the air before going out.

"Hey, you hit me first. I was just defending myself."

"You were taking the piss."

"You were wearing friggin' makeup, what did you expect me to say? 'Dude, your makeup looks awesome?' What were you planning on doing, trying out for the Miss. Konoha beauty pageant?"

I couldn't bloody believe it. My mouth hung open to shout back, but I closed it again. I refused to get into another argument with him - especially at his house… on a balcony which he could easily chuck me over. "Fuck you, bastard." I threw open the balcony doors and stormed across his orange bedroom, before stomping downstairs to enter the midst of drunken teenagers and thumping music.

'Welcome to the club now. Gonna pump it up now. This is an emergency. Music is my galaxy. Welcome to the club now. Everybody up now. We've gotta going on. Till the break of dawn.'

I didn't care if Matsuri wanted to leave or not. We were going. I found her dancing on a table between two boys from my year. I grabbed her by the wrist and ignored her protests as I basically dragged her to the door. She stumbled slightly on the front step.

"Woah. Where's the fire?" she slurred. "Where did you go? And who's shirt is that?"

I looked down at the black material on my chest. Goddamn it. I'd forgotten my shirt. I killed my speed before stopping completely and throwing my head back in frustration. Should I go back and get it, or just leave it? I shook my head, it wasn't worth going back for… but it was my favourite shirt. And if I left it, he'd probably burn it or something. "For fuck's sake," I mumbled. "Matsuri, stay here. I'll be right back."

She saluted and wobbled a little. "Ay, ay, Môn Capitan." I rolled my eyes. At least she was sober enough to stand this time.

I re-entered Naruto's house, dodged teenagers hanging around on the stairs and tiptoed down the second floor's hallway. I'd left it in his room. Hopefully Naruto wasn't there, because strolling back into his bedroom, picking up my shirt and leaving again while he stood and watched didn't sound very appealing. The door was closed, so I guessed he'd gone, but I palmed my hands flat against the wood and pressed my ear against it just in case.

"Yeah, I know, Jiraiya," Naruto's voice seeped through the wood, but there was no reply, so he must've been on the phone. It was rude to listen to people's conversations. I pressed my ear harder against the wood. Hey, I said it was rude, I didn't say I wasn't going to do it. "I'll be fine… seriously, it's okay. You don't have to come on Monday if you're too busy… yes… ugh, don't remind me. I don't know how many weeks I'm being made to do this… You know it… of course. I'm going to slaughter them all." My brows furrowed. "I'm going to knock them all dead, I'll bring out the big guns and they won't know what's hit them… okay, see you next week." Slaughter? He was going to bring out guns and knock everyone dead?

I stepped back from the door when his footsteps moved across the floor behind it. He really was fucking crazy. I had to get outa there while I still could.

* * *

**Man, it's 11:30pm and I have to study for an A-Level which is tomorrow. I'm so screwed. I do this every time. I get study leave and spend my whole time writing. This is why I did so badly in my As-Levels! I never learn.**

**Anyway, reviews are appreciated. I always seem to update quicker when I get loads of reviews. They're the cherries in my pie, the flake in my 99p -( I don't know if Americans will understand the last one. It's an ice-cream.)**

**Ja ne**

**x**


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